For a long time students have been packing their cases and heading to the great unknown in order to experience a gap year prior to attending university or other further education.

Although a gap year is no doubt a great way of cutting loose and experiencing a new found freedom and the world beyond the familiar, it seems an emerging trend is gaining speed. This is the concept of becoming a foreign student and studying for your qualifications whilst abroad.

I know that for many years students have opted to study abroad and that this is not a ‘new’ trend. However it does seem that the number of foreign applications to universities is increasing the world over. A particularly strong student exchange relationship has been building between the U.S and the U.K.

It appears that in the present climate of increased global mobility, the young are jumping at the chance to gain more than just an academic education. Aside from gaining both credible and respected qualifications, students are also gaining a different kind of education, one away from the classroom. Working within a different social, political and economic system enables students to gain new insights and different perspectives.

This new age of global education is one which can surely only become a benefit to the global economy and its worldwide relations. With graduates qualifying with much more than just a degree certificate, having personal knowledge of international issues, surely there are only good things to come from the influx of foreign students around the world.

CN